All-Star Going From A D1 To D2 Gym ????

[LostinCheerMom]

My daughter has spent 4 seasons with a D1 gym and we sat this season out for Covid related reasons. She has kept in touch with some of her cheer sisters and still watches her favorite teams. Before when entertaining the thought of not returning to our old gym she has said she would rather not return to cheer at all or just tumble. I had a long talk with her explaining the finances and why we just can't go back. She came to me today to take the option I gave of going to a D2 gym that we could afford. She said "mom I just want to perform again" I know there will be adjustments since we spent 4 years D2 before making the move to where we were. I know cheer is in her heart and guess she's not just ready to walk completely away. Just wanted some feedback from people who know where we're coming from.

 

[5monkeysjumping]

We switched from a D1 to a D2 last year. It wasn't a financial decision, though, and was a personal one. My daughter had spent 4 years at the D1 and it had grown tremendously each year. She hit a point where she just felt like another cog in the wheel. They'd stopped putting the effort into really training their kids, because they knew they'd get enough new kids to fill teams. She just felt like no one really cared about or valued her. So, we went to a brand new gym and she's never been happier. The coaches value her as a person and an athlete. They are putting the time in to build successful teams and tumblers. She went from
A burned out front spot on a Y3 to a flyer on a S4. I love the smaller gym. It feels like family. She went from feeling like kids on her team celebrated injuries so they had a shot of taking your spot, to feeling like every kid on her team has her back implicitly. Not one regret.

 

[Cheermom1979]

Do it! Our D2 gym is very competitive but it is small so has that family feel. We looked at the 2 local-ish D1 gyms and they are great programs but they just felt like a factory. I like that at our gym all the coaches, tumble instructors, owner and even her husband know all our girls. Best decision we made.